Here in New England

Viet vets sue over PTSD
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The military has failed to correct the wrongful discharges of thousands of Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, an advocacy group says in a federal lawsuit.

Vietnam Veterans of America on Monday joined a proposed class action lawsuit in Hartford against the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The U.S. attorney’s office is representing the military in the lawsuit. Vietnam veteran John Shepherd of New Haven and the VVA, which has about 65,000 members, are represented by Yale Law School students who work at a veterans legal services clinic.

David Kwiatkowski, whom prosecutors describe as a “serial infector,” was indicted last week. Kwiatkowski, who was handcuffed, said only “yes” when asked in court if he understood his rights. His trial was scheduled for February.

New trial in beating case
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man convicted of severely beating a Holyoke police officer will get a new trial with jurors who will get revised instructions used in cases of defendants who are mentally ill and were intoxicated at the time of the crime, the state Appeals Court ruled Monday.

Alfredo Rivera was convicted in the 2007 attack on Officer Wilfredo Guzman. Prosecutors said he beat Guzman with a mallet, causing permanent head injuries.

Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni said his office will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Judicial Court.

High bail for NH couple
PLAISTOW, N.H. — High bails were set Monday for a fugitive couple arrested at a Florida theme park and arraigned in New Hampshire on charges in the beating and burning of the woman’s 3-year-old son.

Separate video arraignments were held for the two in court in Plaistow, a town of about 8,000 on the Massachusetts line.

The boy’s mother, Jessica Linscott, 23, was ordered held on $100,000 bail. Roland Dow, 27, was ordered held on $500,000 bail.

Missing fingers a clue
PROVIDENCE — Federal prosecutors say a Rhode Island man has confessed to bank robberies in Massachusetts after authorities identified him by his missing fingers.

Lavell C. Livramento is charged with armed bank robbery after someone armed with a knife stole $12,000 Thursday at Dedham’s Blue Hills Bank. Eyewitnesses and surveillance images indicated the robber was missing two fingers on his left hand — a distinguishing characteristic that investigators used to connect the suspect to bank robberies in Taunton, Mansfield and Swansea.